Inflatable orthopedic shoulder pad



March 2, 1948. 1.. s. TATAl INFLATABLE ORTHOPEDIC SHOULDER PAD Filed Jan. 14, 1946 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 LAD/x440 sososLAy TATA l Z/VVE/VTOR.

A from/Ex March 2, s. TATAl INFLATABLE ORTHOPEDIC SHOULDER PAD Filed Jan. 14, 1946 2 Sheets-Sheet z fLWJLAa SOBOSLA) TAT/I 1 IN v/vr0/a A from/31 Patented Mar. 2, 1948 1 UNITE STATES OFFICE lNFl'iATABnE-oniz zigic SHOUEDER? Ladi'slaoSolzoclu ll'atatllabana, Qubas Application January. '14, 19.46;, semi Nathan IIl-CubaJuly z, 1945 The present invention relates to improvements in inflatable orthopedic shoulder pads gtn'eraliy tain amount of'pa'dding material in the shoulders of wearing apparel, particularly coats and overcoats,, with a view to correcting. and concealing any deformity of; or asymmetry between the shoulders of the wearer, and. to give the garment a more elegant and attractive appearance. Such padding material is usually obtained by tailors in the form of an auxiliary, prefabricated element known as a-shoulderpad. V

The more usual form of shoulder pad is made of solid fibrous material havingcompact qualities; such as cotton wadding, felt or the lilre,- presenting a number of disadvantages. These pads are uncomfortable to thewearer'andcause unnecessary warmth, they eventually lose their shape from continued wear of the garment, andthey are permanently sewn or embodied in the garment thereby causing difiiculties in the laundering, cleaning and pressing of the garment, besides being a trap or collector for perspiration, hence the added disadvantage of being unhygienic.

It is an object of this invention to provide a new type of shoulder pad in which the padding material is replaced by air or some other suitable gaseous fluid.

It is another object of the invention to provide a shoulder pad which does not produce unnecessary warmth or discomfort for the wearer.

A further object is to provide a shoulder pad 7 which will keep its form indefinitely in spite of prolonged wear of the garment.

A still further object of the invention is to provide a shoulder pad which can be easily removed from the garment to facilitate washing, cleaning and ironingof the garment, and which is easily replaced after these operations are completed.

Anc'l itis-a still further object of the invention to provide a shoulder pad which does not absorb perspiration and therefore remains perfectly hygienic. I

These and other objects of the invention will become more apparent in the following detailed description taken in conjunction with a preferred embodiment illustrated by way of example in the accompanying drawings, in which:

Fig. 1 shows a plan view of one form of shoulder pad constructed according to the invention;

Fig. 2 shows a section through A-A of Fig. 1; Fig. 3 shows a section through 3-13 of Fig. 1;

Fig. 4' showsa side-elevation of the shoulderpad inthe form which it adopts when in use; and

F g. 5- shows a detail of Fig. 1 with part of the covering cut away: i

The shoulder-pad according to the invention comprises} a backing- I having a similar conforma tion to theusualshoulder pads: and a plurality-of substantially conicalmembers 2, sealed at their bases-3 'Ihesemembersv are: held together by 11111341 4 and to the-backing I by meansof links 5, the edge of the backing 6* being turned otter and fixed by stitchingror suitable. adhesive. The members are so arranged that their: tipsst'also come under this turned edge 6.

The backing I: is; preferably made ofra. flexible and washable material. iandrmay. be waterproof: It may also be perforated as at 8.

The .conicalimenrbers' aremade of flexible,.elas tic material such as: rubber, synthetic. gum, cellu: lose sheeting resembling Cellophane, or plastic fabric, or of cloth coated or impregnated with rubber or the like having waterproof and elastic qualities. The main considerations in the choice of material are that it should be waterproof and that the members must be capable of retaining air or other gaseous medium.

According to the size required of a shoulder pad constructed in accordance with the invention, it will have a greater or lesser number of conicalmembers, the example shown having seven such members. Furthermore, the members will have different diameters decreasing from the center towards the extremities as shown particularly in Figs. 3 and 4. In this way the shoulder pad will provide a graduated element surrounding the shoulder when curved into the operative shape indicated in Fig. 5.

In the construction shown, the three members occupying the central position are each provided with a tube 9, 8, 9" communicating with the interior thereof and through which they may be inflated to any desired size. Links 4 serve only to retain these members in adjacent positions, and they may be of any suitable web material, while links 4' in this embodiment are tubes communicating with the interior of adjacent members to permit inflation of the members not provided with tubes 9,829". a

On the other hand, each member may be provided with an independent tube for inflation, in which case the links will all be as in 4, or else any one of the members may be provided with a single tube serving to inflate all the members, and in this case all the links will be as in 4'.

It will be readily understood that the pressure of air or other gaseous medium used can be varied in accordance with the amount of padding required to correct the appearance of either shoulder. For it is a well known fact that very few persons have both shoulders alike, and according to the eflfect desired more or less padding is required for one shoulder than for the other.

Finally, the shoulder pads are so constructed that they'may be easily'remo'ved from the garment, each as a single unit, for cleaning and pressing operations, and readily replaced after completion of these operations.

It is obvious that certain modifications v rnay be made without departing from the scope of the invention, and nothing in this description 01' in the accompanying drawings shall be on strued as limiting the inventive features thereof.

What I claim is:

" tral member.

'7. An inflatable shoulder ipad comprising a 1 plurality of spaced conical cells having aligned bases and different diameters, means for retaining said cells in aligned position, and means for inflating said cells in groups, each group having a difierent pressure.

1. An inflatable shoulder pad comprising, a

substantially semicircular foundation of flexible material, a plurality of hollow, spaced, substantially conical members having their bases in line with the straight side of said foundation and their apexes fixed to points at the periphery of said foundation, a plurality of links connecting each of said members to the adjacent one and the outlying members to said periphery, and means for inflating said members.

2. An inflatable shoulder pad as claimed in claim 1 wherein said members are made of elastic, Waterproof material.

3. An inflatable shoulder pad as claimed in claim 1 wherein each of said members is separately inflatable.

4. An inflatable shoulder pad as claimed in claim 1 wherein said members are inflatable ingroups.

5. An inflatable shoulder pad as claimed in claim 1 wherein said members have different REFERENCES CITED I The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

I UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 238,066 Stem Feb, 22, 1881 2,122,502 Wallner July 5, 1938 2,304,699

Levy Dec. 8, 1942 

